The Telenor case

Status of the Telenor case

Last updated 3 October 2026 · 12 processes

State-controlled Telenor has been charged («siktet») with complicity in crimes against humanity and with violating sanctions regulations. A «siktelse» is a formal step in a Norwegian criminal investigation, not an indictment or a conviction. At the same time, regulatory reviews, parliamentary scrutiny, complaints and a civil class action are under way. Here is the status of each of them.

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Criminal cases

1. 01 Investigation ongoing

   Kripos

   Charged with complicity in crimes against humanity

   Telenor ASA has been charged with complicity in crimes against humanity in the period from the military coup on 1 February 2021 to the sale on 25 March 2022. The charge concerns repeated disclosures of historical customer traffic data to the military regime, while the regime was responsible for widespread abuses against the civilian population.

   Maximum penalty: up to 30 years’ imprisonment for individuals. Companies may be subject to corporate penalties.

   Police press release, 15 September 2026 ↗
2. 02 Investigation ongoing

   PST

   Charged with violating sanctions regulations

   The sale of Telenor Myanmar allegedly included sanctioned surveillance equipment, without a licence from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

   Maximum penalty: up to 3 years’ imprisonment for individuals. Companies may be subject to corporate penalties.

   Joint press release from PST and Kripos ↗
3. 03 Ongoing

   Outside Norway

   International investigations

Parliament and regulators

1. 04 Report expected before Christmas

   Office of the Auditor General (Riksrevisjonen)

   Review of the state’s ownership of Telenor

   On 28 April 2026 the Storting unanimously decided that the Office of the Auditor General shall audit the state’s ownership of Telenor in connection with the operations in Myanmar. The Auditor General has requested and received the documents from the ownership dialogue, the same documents the government has refused to give the Storting.

   The report is expected before the end of the year. The Control Committee will then consider the case.

   The Storting: the Auditor General case ↗
2. 05 Government refuses access

   Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs

   The government still refuses the Storting access

   The day after the charges, Sylvi Listhaug demanded that the Prime Minister give the Control Committee access to the government’s ownership dialogue with Telenor. On 24 September Støre refused again, pointing out that the Auditor General has received the documents. The Committee has requested the documents in several rounds since November 2025.

   Listhaug’s question and Støre’s answer ↗
3. 06 Decision in October

   Norwegian Consumer Authority (Forbrukertilsynet)

   Request for an investigation under the Transparency Act

   On 28 July 2026 Nicolai Prydz asked the Consumer Authority to open a case against Telenor ASA for breaches of sections 4 and 5 of the Transparency Act (åpenhetsloven).

   The request reviews Telenor’s transparency statements for 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. None of them mentions the data disclosures to the military junta, the Lawful Intercept Gateway surveillance system, the at least 1,253 people affected or measures for remedy. Yet Telenor claims compliance with the Act in all four years. The request refers to the preparatory works: due diligence assessments must be ongoing, and actual adverse impacts cannot be withheld.

   In October the Consumer Authority will decide whether to open an investigation.

   Possible sanction: an infringement fine of up to 4% of annual turnover, or NOK 25 million if higher (section 3 of the regulation on the assessment of fines). The Telenor group had a turnover of NOK 76.5 billion in 2025. 4% of that is roughly NOK 3.1 billion. Which turnover applies is decided by the authority.

   • Request to the Norwegian Consumer Authority, 28 July 2026 (in Norwegian)PDF
4. 07 Response expected mid-October

   Norwegian Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet)

   Appeal against the closure of the GDPR case

   The case began with a GDPR complaint from Telenor customer Ye Lin Myint on 7 February 2022, 46 days before the sale. The Data Protection Authority did not contact Telenor until the sale had been completed, and closed the case on 3 November 2025, finding that Telenor ASA was not the controller of the data in Myanmar.

   On behalf of the complainant, Nicolai Prydz has asked that the decision be declared invalid. The appeal points out that the Data Protection Authority, in a parallel case (21/03823), has itself established that Telenor ASA carries out cross-border processing, that the data requests were handled through Telenor’s group functions in Norway, and that the handling of the case was affected by conflicts of interest. Two supplementary submissions refer to the charges from Kripos and PST and to the district court’s ruling in the class action.

   The Data Protection Authority has announced a response in mid-October. If it upholds its decision, the case goes to the Privacy Appeals Board (Personvernnemnda).

   Possible sanction under GDPR Article 83: a fine of up to 4% of total global annual turnover, or EUR 20 million if higher. With Telenor’s 2025 turnover of NOK 76.5 billion, that corresponds to roughly NOK 3.1 billion. The right to impose a fine expires on 25 March 2027.

   • Appeal to the Privacy Appeals Board via the Data Protection Authority, 15 July 2026 (in Norwegian)PDF
   • Supplementary submission 1: the charges from Kripos and PST, 19 September 2026 (in Norwegian)PDF
   • Supplementary submission 2: the district court’s ruling, 30 September 2026 (in Norwegian)PDF

Civil cases and complaints

1. 08 Appeal deadline 19 October

   Asker and Bærum District Court

   Class action approved

   On 17 September 2026 the district court approved the class action brought by at least 1,253 former Telenor customers in Myanmar, represented by the Justice and Accountability Initiative. Their lawyer is Jan Magne Langseth. The claim is for approximately NOK 125 million. The case is an opt-out action, so those affected are included unless they opt out.

   Telenor disputes liability and has until 19 October to appeal.

   The decision on Lovdata ↗
2. 09 New complaint under consideration

   Norwegian National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct (OECD)

   New complaint: those affected have never been identified

   On 7 September 2026 whistleblowers from Telenor Myanmar filed a new complaint with the National Contact Point, represented by World Freedom Fund (in formation) through Nicolai Prydz and Stian Rustad.

   In December 2025 the National Contact Point concluded that Telenor breached the OECD Guidelines when it left Myanmar. At the same time, the Contact Point wrote that it had not examined who was actually affected by the data sharing. The new complaint concerns exactly that: Telenor has still not identified those affected, mapped the consequences or established a process for remedy. The complainants consider this an ongoing breach of the Guidelines.

   The previous case took more than four years. The complainants therefore ask the Contact Point to proceed directly to a final statement establishing an ongoing breach.

   • Complaint to the National Contact Point, 7 September 2026 (in English)PDF
3. 10 Submission sent

   OECD · Working Party on State Ownership and Privatisation Practices (WPSOPP)

   The state’s duty to share what it knew

   On 8 September 2026 World Freedom Fund asked the OECD Working Party on State Ownership and Privatisation Practices to assess what duty a state, as majority owner, has to share information about human rights risks: with those affected, with other state bodies such as the National Contact Point, and with the national parliament.

   The submission points out that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was informed about the surveillance system on 14 December 2020, before the coup, and that the government had at least 27 documented meetings with Telenor up to the sale. This information was never shared with the National Contact Point while the Telenor complaint was being considered. The submission also raises that in March 2024 the government appointed two new members of the National Contact Point with ties to Telenor, while the complaint was being considered.

   • Submission to the OECD WPSOPP, 8 September 2026 (in English)PDF
4. 11 Awaiting response

   Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norad

   Application for legal aid

   Application for funding for legal assistance for victims, bereaved families and whistleblowers.

5. 12 In progress

   International media organisations

   Documentaries about Telenor in Myanmar

   Major international media organisations are working on in-depth documentaries about Telenor’s conduct in Myanmar.